PRG Newsletter – FEB 2026 by Performance Running Gym
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Race Team
Interested in joining a team of driven runners who want to compete, grow, and get faster together?
Develop your running in a fun community setting with the help of nationally certified and experienced run coaches! The PRG Race Team is designed to help athletes build speed, improve running performance, and meet friends in a fun community atmosphere. The race team trains year round in the heat of the summer to the dark of winter with the support of track facilities at UMN Twin Cities, the trail and park systems near our location in St. Louis Park and using the state of the art equipment and facilities at Performance Running Gym! Whether you’re training for your first 10k or a marathon PR, you’ll be right at home on the PRG Race Team!
Sign up using the QR Code!
Beginner Runner Series Workshops (2 of 3)
Get Stronger. Stay Injury Free
Hosted by Performance Running Gym
Wednesday, Feb 25th, 7pm (After Wednesday Night Group Run)
In the second installation of the Beginner Runner Series Workshops, Coach Caleb discusses why strength training and mobility matter for runners. Participants will walk away with a guide to the most important strength training exercises every runner should be doing, learn about common running injuries and how to prevent them, learn about what to consider in your pre-run warm-up, and answer common questions about strength training for runners.
Whether you’re brand new to running, or looking to take your running to the next level in 2026, this five part workshop series will help you hit the ground running in the new year. One Wednesday each month through May, a workshop is held after the PRG Wednesday Night Group Run. Come on out to enjoy a 4 or 6 mile social paced run with the group at 6pm and stick around for the session, or just come for the 7pm workshop itself. The first three workshops will be FREE, with the final two being private sessions reserved for those taking part in our Run Strong Foundations Group Coaching Program. We hope you join us and bring a friend!
Trainer Tips With Aaron Boike
Making Winter Miles Work for You
Minnesota, and it’s brutal winters, have produced some of the best athletes in the country on both the road and trails. From legends like Pam Reed and Scott Jurek to modern day phenoms like Courtney Dauwalter and Dakotah Popehn. While winter carries it’s own set of challenges, it can also help set a cadence to the year, builds resistance to adversity, allows for effective cross training, and forces us to use indoor tools to our advantage in training.
Use Winter for Base Building
Winter miles are rarely fast, and they don’t need to be. Cold temps, snow, ice, and limited daylight naturally change how we run. Instead of fighting that, lean into it! Winter is a wonderful time to scale back the intensity and focus on building a big base and durability for the warmer months ahead. Pace matters less, consistency matters more.
Make Sure You’re Warmed-Up to Avoid Injury
One big mistake runners make in the cold is starring out too fast. Muscles and connective tissue are stiffer in the cold, so take a few extra minutes to warm-up before hitting the pavement. Start each run slow and controlled, building to your working pace to allow your body to warm-up.
Dress In Layers to Manage Temperature
Dressing in the right layers makes all of the difference. Layers allow you to manage effort and temperature as your body heats up. You should start each run feeling a little chilled in the first five minutes to ensure you don’t get too warm as your core temp tops out.
The hands, feet and face tend to be the most sensitive areas, with the core and legs tending to warm-up quickly due to blood flow to those areas. Try using a liner glove with a mitten over the top for runs cooler than 20 degrees, and a similar set-up with multiple pairs of socks (wool is fantastic!) if your feet tend to get uncomfortably cold. A balaklava or wool buff is a great investment to keep your face warm on those extra cold days when just a winter beanie doesn’t cut it.
Use the Treadmills for Speedwork and Hills
The treadmill can be a great tool to help you build speedwork and hillwork into your winter training routine. Slippery conditions outdoors often prevent you from hitting the paces you need to get a higher intensity workout, and the hills are often too slick to be safe managing repeats. The Woodways at PRG are a great tool to tackle both of these objectives, with most of our machines going up to at least 25% grades (only the three in front of the TV’s are limited to just 15% – still more than enough for standard hill work!)
Cross Training and Strength Work
Winter is also a great time for cross training! Skiing, fatbiking, and even sledding with the kids can be additional way to build low impact aerobic volume. The winter and off-season are also the best time to commit to your strength training. When the miles are lower, hitting 2-3x/week strength sessions can help you boost strength, durability, and injury resiliance for the big training months ahead.
Winter Training is an investment. Every consistent mile in difficult conditions builds physical strength, mental resiliance, and confidence. Come spring, those quiet winter efforts pay off in a big way!
-Coach Aaron
Featured Episode: John Storkamp – Founder of Rocksteady Running
John Storkamp is the Owner and Director of Rocksteady Running, the organization that directs some of the biggest trail races in the midwest, including the Superior Fall Trail Races, Afton Trail Races, Zumbro Trail Races, and the Endless Summer series. John himself is an amazing athlete with an incredible athletic resume. John has over 140 finishes at races of the marathon distance or beyond, including 27 wins at races like the Arrowhead 135, The Death Valley Trail Marathon, Chester Woods 50k, Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon, Zumbro 100 miler, Door County Fall 50 and more.
Under John’s leadership, many of the events he and his wife, Cheri, direct have gained national and even international recognition for their beauty, challenge, and above all else, the exceptional race experience and unmatched community vibe. Personally, I’ve run races all over the country, and I’ve never found an organization or community that has come close to matching the class act that is Rocksteady Running.
In this episode we take a peek under the hood at RSR and learn more about the history of the events that John and Cheri direct, as well as hear the stories of some of the challenges, triumphs, and adventures that will give us a window into the world of heading up the premier race organization in the upper midwest.
Member Spotlight
Ashley Serrano
Meet Ashley! Originally from Indianapolis and now calling Maple Grove home, Ashley has been part of the PRG community for the past two years. By day, she’s a clinical psychologist, or as she puts it, a “feelings doctor.” By training schedule, she’s a marathoner who decided early on that if she was going to run 26.2 miles, she wanted to do it the right way. That mindset led her to PRG, a coach, and a whole new relationship with running.
Ashley trains for the marathon, but what’s kept her coming back is more than just the workouts. Her favorite parts of the gym are the awesome community and the high quality Woodway Treadmills. PRG has become a space where she feels completely comfortable running the paces she needs to run and doing the work she needs to do, without judgment. In her words, everyone is on their own journey, and at PRG she’s free to be herself.
A huge source of Ashley’s motivation is her seven year daughter. As a solo parent, staying active is about much more than fitness goals. It’s about building a long, healthy life filled with joy, laughter, and movement. Kids are always on the move, and Ashley wants to be right there with her daughter, now and as she continues to grow older. For her, movement is about ease, longevity, and being present for the moments that matter.
When asked about her biggest athletic achievement, Ashley doesn’t point to a finish time or a medal. She points to having the courage to try. She went from not running or working out at all to signing up for her first marathon, even before joining PRG. That willingness to step into the unknown pretty much sums her up. Her favorite mantra is simple and powerful: you’ll never know if you don’t try.
A few fun facts to round things out. Ashley usually runs outside in complete silence. Inside, she’s all about Taylor Swift. Lifting sessions might include Journey, Foreigner, Wheatus, 2Pac, or Benson Boone, which she admits is a little all over the place, much like her mind. And despite all the training, her first broken bone didn’t come from running. It came at age 35, from falling off a curb.
You can find Ashley on Instagram at @adillon82 and on TikTok at @ashley_phd. If you see her around the gym, say hi. Chances are she’s putting in the work, quietly, confidently, and exactly at the pace she needs.
Business Spotlight
The Loppet Foundation
If you’ve ever run, skied, biked, or wandered the trails at Theodore Wirth Park, chances are you’ve already experienced the impact of The Loppet. This Twin Cities-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit is on a mission to connect people to the outdoors through experiences that grow community, and they do it in a big way! Each year, The Loppet welcomes more than 40,000 people to Theodore Wirth Park for events, programs, and outdoor experiences that bring people together year-round. PRG is a proud sponsor of The Loppets summer races and activities – including the Tuesday Night Trail Run (Tuesday Nights at 6:30pm, staring mid-April!) and the CityTrail Loppet and Utepils Trail Loppet races.
What makes The Loppet especially special for endurance athletes is their deep commitment to getting people outside in every season. With world-class trails for cross-country skiing, trail running, mountain biking, fat biking, and more, they create opportunities for movement no matter the weather. Their programming starts early too, welcoming youth as young as five and helping foster a lifelong love of the outdoors, something we deeply value at PRG.
One of their biggest and most magical events of the year is coming up soon. On February 7, The Loppet hosts the Luminary Loppet, their largest annual fundraiser. Picture a winter night on Lake of the Isles lit by more than 1,200 candlelit luminaries, paired with live music, fire dancers, s’mores, and a whole lot of community stoke. Every ticket directly supports their mission, and tickets are still available – this is one we highly recommend!
To learn more about The Loppet, explore upcoming events, or see how to get involved, visit www.loppet.org and follow them on Instagram @loppetfoundation or on Facebook at facebook.com/loppet. We’re grateful for the work they do and proud to share their mission with the PRG community.
In Case You Missed It:
PRG Race Team Track Workouts – Through 3/31/26!
Develop your running in a fun community setting with the help of nationally certified and experienced run coaches! The PRG Race Team is designed to help athletes build speed, improve running performance, and meet friends in a fun community atmosphere. The race team trains year round in the heat of the summer to the dark of winter with the support of track facilities at UMN Twin Cities, the trail and park systems near our location in St. Louis Park and using the state of the art equipment and facilities at Performance Running Gym! Whether you’re training for your first 10k or a marathon PR, you’ll be right at home on the PRG Race Team!
Sign up at www.performancerungym.com/race-team!
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